Environmental Engineering Reference
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gallons (equivalent to 17 olympic-sized swimming pools) of
crude oil. The ship had encountered icebergs in the shipping
lanes, and Captain Hazelwood ordered the helmsman to go
out of the shipping lanes to go around the ice. He then handed
over control to the third mate with instructions to turn back
into the shipping lanes when the tanker reached a certain point.
They failed to make the turn back into the shipping lanes soon
enough, and the ship ran aground. For the first few days after
the spill, most of the oil was concentrated in a large patch near
Bligh Island, but no effective cleanup had started. On March
26, a storm with winds over 70 mph weathered much of the
oil, thickening it into mousse and tar balls and distributing it
over a large area. By March 30, the oil extended 90 miles from
the spill site. The spill occurred at a time of year when the tidal
fluctuations were nearly 18 feet, causing the oil to spread onto
shorelines way above the normal zone of wave action. The oil
eventually covered 1,300 miles of coastline, and 11,000 square
miles of ocean. Of the 1,300 miles of coastline, 200 miles were
heavily or moderately oiled (the impact was obvious) and 1,100
miles were lightly or very lightly oiled (light sheen or occa-
sional tar balls). This spill was the largest ever in US waters
at that time in terms of volume released. In addition, Prince
William Sound's remote location, accessible only by helicop-
ter, plane, or boat, made government and industry response
efforts difficult and slow.
What were the causes of the accident?
The National Transportation Safety Board investigated
the accident and found that the probable causes of the
grounding were:
1. The failure of the third mate to properly maneuver the
vessel, possibly due to fatigue and excessive workload;
2. The failure of the master to provide a proper navigation
watch, possibly due to impairment from alcohol;
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